US stocks were higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rising 0.3%, the Nasdaq edging up 0.1%, and the Dow Jones jumping more than 250 points. The gains followed fresh record closes for the S&P 500 in back-to-back sessions. Investor sentiment was buoyed by renewed trade optimism after President Trump announced a deal with Japan that would lower tariffs from 25% to 15%. Japan also committed to investing $550 billion in the US and opening its markets to key American goods. Additionally, a trade agreement with the Philippines was announced, while hopes are growing that a deal with the EU may soon be reached. Health and industrials were the top performing sectors while communication services underperformed. Meanwhile, earnings season remains in focus. Alphabet (-0.1%), Tesla (-0.5%), T-Mobile (-0.2%), and IBM (0.9%) are set to report after the opening bell. Texas Instruments plunged 11% after issuing a weak earnings outlook, while AT&T dropped 2.9% despite beating earnings expectations.